Monthly Archives: May 2010

We have already known for some time that AT&T was planning to upgrade its 3G network in a big way over the coming months but many industry insiders did not figure the upgrade would be as big of an improvement as tech websites Engadget and Gizmodo are reporting. At a recent Reuters event in New York City AT&T’s Operations CEO John Stankey mentioned that AT&T is going to more than double the speeds of its current 7.2 Mbps 3G network by the end of the year.

While AT&T has made significant improvements to their network in the past few months it is not expected to reach speeds anywhere near T-Mobile’s 21Mbps network. Although I am sure that many Unlocked Quickfire AT&T customers would be delighted if the network were to reach speeds of 14.4Mbps as expected by this announcement.

AT&T’s network is notorious for being spotty and slow in major cities. If this latest announcement is accurate AT&T’s network should see a great improvement and users of their 3G network will be greeted with a much better user experience. With Sprint set to come out with their 4G network in the coming months AT&T had to do something to address their sometimes shaky 3G network. This improvement that is expected to double the speeds of their network is better than expected. If AT&T is able to double the speed of their 3G network I would expect more people to purchase Unlocked Smartphone with this cellular network leader. Their upgraded network would be one of the best in the United States if this plan actually comes to fruition. Hopefully they can complete this upgrade ahead of schedule so we do not have to wait until the end of the year to see these increased speeds.

If the FCC gets its way you might be able to rest a little easier when it comes to your cell phone bill. In an intitiative spearheaded by Joel Gurin, the head of the FCC’s Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, the days of seeing an extremely high cell phone bill will become a thing of the past. Gurin is trying to eliminate “bill shock” through a system where phone carriers would notify mobile subscribers via an unspecified method if their current cell phone usage is likely to result in a bill that is significantly higher than their normal monthly plan.

A similar system has been in place in the European Union since 2009 and has been a resounding success. Said Gurin: “We’re issuing a Public Notice to see if there’s any reason that American carriers can’t use similar automatic alerts to inform consumers when they are at risk of running up a high bill. This is an avoidable problem. Avoiding bill shock is good for consumers and ultimately good business for wireless carriers as well.”

I think this a great idea and will help protect consumers from running up an extremely large cell phone bill. With more and more consumers switching over to smartphones they may not know how much data they are using if they are on a limited plan. Instead of having to manually check in on their account all of the time the mobile carrier could send them alerts letting them know when they are nearing their monthly data, text or voice limits. If someone would go over their monthly allotment then it is completely their fault as their mobile carrier did the best they could to alert them that they may be reaching their limits which would result in a higher bill.

It looks like T-Mobile and Garmin-Asus have finally settled on a release date for the much anticipated Garminfone. This new mobile device with a GPS slant will ship in June for $199 on a two year contract. The Garminfone will run its own heavily customized Garmin UI over the Google Nexus One Unlocked Android operating system. In addition to this slick UI the Garminfone will come with a 3 megapixel autofocus cam, microSD expansion that supports up to 32GB, WiFi and full HSPA. The phone will also come bundled with a charging dash/windshield mount.

The Garminfone has been one of the more highly anticipated Unlocked smartphone releases in recent memory. Definitely geared towards the GPS junky the Garminfone also has features that will appeal to anyone looking for a new mobile device. The 3 megapixel camera and microSD expansion up to 32GB are extremely nice touches. While you are using your Garminfone to travel the countryside without getting lost you will be able to take many pictures along the way and store them on your phone to share with friends and family.

One of the best features about the Garminfone is the windshield/dashboard mount that comes with the device. Since this phone is manufactured by a GPS company it would make sense that the GPS function of the phone is its best quality. Since many users will be using this device as a GPS unit it only makes sense that they would want a dashboard or windshield mount to accompany their new GPS unit. Instead of selling the mount separately Garmin is including it with the purchase of the mobile phone to allow their customers to easily use this navigation device while driving in their cars.

Earlier today cell phone network Sprint announced that the forthcoming HTC Unlocked (EVO 4G) will be one of the first mobile handsets in the US to support live video chats. The application that will be used for these video chats is being provided Qik, which already offers a live video streaming service for smartphones. Sprint did not mention if this feature would incur extra charges on top of the required data plan.

The new HTC EVO 4G can also handle simultaneous voice and data sessions in 4G markets. This new phone will also be able to stream HD video content. According to Sprint it will be the first mobile device with ability to watch YouTube videos in “high quality.”

The HTC EVO 4G will require a $70/month Everything Unlimited plan and WiMax 4G access will incur an additional $10 per month which is mandatory for certain 4G devices no matter if there is WiMax coverage or not. Consumers can also choose to make the EVO 4G hotspot available for up to eight devices for an additional $30 per month. The HTC EVO 4G is set for release on June 4th.

As if we needed more features for the Unlocked HTC Phone ( EVO 4G) to get us excited about its pending release on June 4th Sprint makes this announcement today that this device will be able to handle live video chats. Consumers are already excited about the reported speeds of the 4G network and the high quality video that is supposedly going to accompany the HTC EVO 4G. Now with this announcement that people will be able to hold live video chats on their mobile devices will surely prompt a few more consumers to purchase this new mobile device when it finally hits the stores.

In a recently announced study market research firm NPD states that Google’s Android operating system edged up into second place in the US smartphone market during the first quarter of 2010. While Google’s Android still trails RIM’s BlackBerry operating system I am sure that Google will more than take this news that they are the number two cell phone operating system in the US. This marks the first time that Google’s Android has moved ahead of Apple’s iPhone OS in the market share.

NPD found that RIM owns 36 percent of the market share in the first quarter with Android coming in with 28 percent and unlocked Apple iPhone OS owning 21 percent. This significant growth shown by the Android OS can be largely attributed to strong carrier support such as Verizon’s buy one get one free promotion which helped Verizon obtain a 30 percent market share trailing only AT&T who had 32 percent. T-Mobile and Sprint held 17 and 15 percent of the market share respectively.

With the growing success of several Android devices this announcement does not come as much of a shock to the smartphone industry. Google Nexus One Android has been making ground on the iPhone OS as soon as it was launched. With several other top of the line Mobile devices set to the market and Adobe Flash technology set to be released with the next Android update I would expect this trend to continue. I have a feeling that more and more people are going to be switching over to Android devices once they see several of the new phones that are set to be released. Unless Apple’s iPhone OS 4 has a whole bunch of fascinating features I am not sure they will be able to catch up to the Android OS in terms of market share.

So it appears that AT&T finally released information about the Unlocked Pre Plus that their customers have been patiently waiting for. It looks like AT&T customers will be able to purchase the new Palm Pre Plus for $149.99 on contract after rebate. This is the same price that Sprint is charging for the Pre and $100 more than Verizon is charging for its own Pre Plus. However, AT&T customers will also get a free Touchstone charging dock along with their purchase for a “limited time” when they purchase the device in a corporate owned store.

There is no word yet on the Pixi Plus but at least this gets Palm back onto AT&T’s network. Also, there was no word on a free mobile hotspot add-on to mirror the deal that Verizon has going. The Pre Plus will hit store shelves on May 16th.

Finally we get official word on when the Pre Plus will be released on AT&T’s network and how much it will cost. While the price of $149.99 seems awfully steep compared to Verizon’s $30 (with a 2 year contract) the addition of the Touchstone charging dock is a nice add on. This charging dock will help alleviate the extra costs associated with purchasing this device on the AT&T network instead of switching over to Verizon. However, Sprint is selling the same phone with the same price tag as AT&T so maybe it is just Verizon Wireless that is crazy for selling this smartphone for a mere $30. Either way it is about time that AT&T announced when this device would launch as Palm fans have been anxiously waiting to get their hands on the new Pre Plus Unlock Gadget .

Adobe CTO Kevin Lynch has once again reiterated that Flash works just fine on the Unlocked Apple iPhone and thinks this is exactly why Apple keeps on denying it access. While speaking at the Web 2.0 Expo in San Francisco Lynch revealed that he thinks Apple is forcing developers to build apps natively for iPhone OS rather than one of Adobe’s cross-platform solutions thus creating a “walled garden” of applications that users must flock to the iPhone in order to use. Lynch goes on to mention that it is “not a matter of Flash vs HTML5 as they have been co-existing for over a decade” and that Adobe is going to “continue making the best tools in the world for HTML5.”

This speech looks like just another calculated jab at Apple and their reluctance to allow the Flash technology to be included with their mobile devices. It is still a mystery to many why Apple will not allow Flash to be installed on the most popular mobile device in the world. Many iPhone customers have been begging for Adobe’s Flash Player ever since the devices were released. If Apple is not careful they may lose some of their customers to their up and coming rival Droid company’s as these devices are expected to include Flash 10.1 with the next release. For those hardcore smartphone fans that really wish to have Flash on their mobile device the move to an Motorola Milestone Android 2.1 Unlocked Phone may be the only option if they want to have the Flash player included with their phone so that they can access more content via the web. I know I am eagerly awaiting this release so I can view streaming content on my handheld device from anywhere in the world.

AT&T customers have waited long enough and finally appear to have the chance to buy the Unlocked Palm Pre. The wait has been so long for these AT&T customers that the device is now actually called the Palm Pre Plus and the company Palm itself was bought out by HP. However, it now appears that this device will be available starting May 16th for most of the nation with continued planned rollouts expected in the weeks following until it is available nationwide. There was no mention from AT&T about a free 3G mobile hotspot capability like the one that was offered by Verizon but you will have free access to AT&T’s network of 20,000+ fixed hotspots. The only piece of information that we need now is price AT&T plans on selling the Palm Pre for. This will be an interesting thing to note given the fact that Verizon Wireless recently announced they will be selling the same device for only $30 with a 2 year contract.

It has also been mentioned around the internet rumor mills that AT&T will be rolling out its 3G MicroCell from coast to coast on the same day. This announcement would make a lot of sense as this Palm Pre Unlocked device is expected to increase the amount of load on AT&T’s network with the various web browsing and data using features included with this device. The main selling point of the Palm Pre is that it can also be used as a wireless networking device which will surely add a lot more traffic to AT&T’s already strained 3G network. By releasing the 3G MicroCell product on the same day will hope to alleviate any potential problems that might occur from more users being the on AT&T’s network with a web browsing friendly smartphone.

In a recent call to discuss their first quarter earnings Clearwire mentioned that WiMAX-capable phones bearing the Clear name from both Samsung and HTC Pure Unlocked phones are “expected” to be available before 2010 is over which appears to be pretty optimistic based on earlier comments from the company stating that consumers should not expect any WiMAX phones before the end of 2010.

Clearwire describes the Samsung device as “an Android based 3G/4G/WiFi device optimized for heavy video and video communications use,” while the HTC handset does not mention a platform and is simply called “a 3G/4G/WiFi enabled phone.” The lack of a platform for the HTC is leading many industry experts to assume that this device will be running Windows Phone 7. If this is really the case it is understandable why HTC wouldn’t want Clearwire to mention their HTC device will have Windows Phone 7 since HTC themselves have not made any formal announcement for plans to jump into the Windows Phone 7 market.

This announcement by Clearwire is pretty optimistic news about the potential of having WiMAX devices on the market before the end of the calendar year. Especially since Clearwire has already gone on the record saying to not expect any WiMAX devices before the end f the 2010 this news is especially exciting. Add in the fact that it appears Unlocked HTC Pure is working on a Windows Phone 7 device and this announcement has the chance to be one of the biggest announcements of the year in the smartphone world. It looks like we will have to wait a little while for official word on this Windows Phone 7 device from HTC but from what I have been reading about the potential for some of these upcoming Windows Phone 7 handsets I can not wait to hear what HTC is looking to put out on the market.

Sony Ericsson recently released the second firmware update for their touch-drive Aino Unlocked phone. This latest firmware update reduces the power usage, improves the overall stability and adds a bunch of themes. In addition to the longer battery life the new Aino firmware also brings new video codec support (MIME-type MPEG4-generic), improved WLAN and Bluetooth coexistence and three band new themes. You will also get a new game called Bubble Town 2.

It appears as if Sony Ericsson is fully committed to delivering nice firmware updates through their entire line of mobile phones. Earlier this year we saw new firmware updates for Satio, Yari and Xperia X2. The Xperia X2 has been updated with video telephony and FM radio apps while the Satio’s firmware was given WVGA video recording, direct upload to Facebook and YouTube plus DLNA support. The Yari also has two new games and improved battery life. Also, Sony Ericsson recently announced a major Android 2.1 update to the Unlocked Xperia X10 which is suppose to add HD video recording to the already impressive specs sheet of the smartphone.

It is nice to see Sony Ericsson still paying attention to their current and older models of cell phones to enhance their users’ experience. It seems that many times these cell phone manufacturers worry too much about releasing the next latest and great smartphone that they forget to pay attention to the ones they currently have on the market. Often times there will be several bugs or quirks related to a certain phone and instead of fixing these issues cell phone companies will just release a new device hoping that people will upgrade their phones. By continually adding upgrades to these devices they will surely keep their current customers happy and will more than likely be rewarded with repeat business.